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Right of public communication

An artist enjoys the exclusive right to permit or prohibit the public communication of his/her work.

According to the intellectual property code, this consists of “the communication of the work to the public by any process whatsoever” (art. L. 122-2).

Article L. 122-2 states that public communication can be carried out in particular :

”1° By public recital, lyrical performance, dramatic performance, public exhibition, public screening and transmission in a public place of the broadcast work ;

2° By broadcasting.”

Exhibiting a painting in a museum (direct communication), showing a documentary about street art works on the television or making art photographs available on a website must therefore be permitted by the artist under the right of public communication, even if the work is only partly presented (article L. 122-4).

Like the reproduction right, the right of public communication can be assigned to a third party, exclusively or non-exclusively.

Catalogue reproduction rights

Check the artists whose reproduction and public communication rights are managed by Adagp